Welcome to My Kitchen

Summer heat has area cooks employing various methods of keeping kitchens cool. One person recently stated her rule is no turning the oven on July through September. Others swear by countertop appliances to reduce heat generated. Air-fryers, a recent addition to the countertop appliance line up, get many mentions as the go-to summer time cooking appliance.

Personally, I do not have one. Counter and storage space is at a premium in my small kitchen, so I like to do some research on converting appliance based recipes to conventional baking and cooking methods. I have found to convert air fryer recipes to conventional oven, increase the temperature by 25 degrees and increase the baking time by one third. Example: air–fryer temperature 350 degrees, increase to 400 degrees, air-fryer time 15 minutes, increase to 20 minutes.

Mahki Carrol, Odessa, shared a recipe for Air Fryer Blueberry Crisp. She found the recipe on the Allrecipes.com website. I converted the recipe to serve one and to be baked in a conventional oven for the GoOdessa Summer Recreation Cooking Class. The recipe as printed here makes two servings.

Air Fryer Blueberry Crisp

Fruit:

1 cup frozen blueberries

2 tsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp lemon juice

Pinch salt

Topping:

3 Tbsp quick cooking oatmeal

1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 Tbsp butter, softened

Preheat air-fryer to 360 degrees.

Combine blueberries, flour, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl. Toss to coat, then divide between two one cup ramekins.

Make topping by combining oatmeal, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix in softened butter using a fork until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over blueberries.

Place the ramekins in the air fryer basket and cook until the blueberries are cooked and topping is golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Yield: 2 servings.

Note: frozen peaches or other fruit may be used in this recipe. If you like a sweeter crisp, add one tablespoon of granulated sugar to the fruit mixture. Also note. Aluminum pans and foil slow cooking time in an air fryer.

Area gardens are beginning to produce an abundance of zucchini squash. Barbeque Relish, from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving, by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard, is a great way to use up medium size zucchini. Ten inch zucchini are ideal for this recipe.

Barbeque Relish

4 cups finely chopped zucchini

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

2 Tbsp pickling salt

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups white vinegar

1 Tbsp celery seed, optional

1 tsp mustard seed

1/2 tsp each, dry mustard and ground cloves

Combine zucchini, onion, sweet pepper and celery in a large non-reactive bowl. Sprinkle with the pickling salt and cover with cold water. Let stand one hour. Drain vegetables in a sieve, pressing out excess moisture. Set vegetables aside.

Combine sugar, vinegar, celery seed (if using), mustard seed, dry mustard and cloves in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; add drained vegetables. Return to a boil, reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until mixture thickens.

Ladle into hot sterilized pint or half pint jars to within 1/2 inch of the rim. Wipe rims with a damp paper towel. Top with new, clean lids and rings, screwing fingertip tight. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes for 1/2 pints and 15 minutes for pints. Yield; 3 1/4 cups relish.

Note: this keeps well in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, so if you use a lot of relish you may not need to can, just store in the refrigerator. Also, substitute apple cider vinegar for half of the vinegar for a more mellow flavor.

The following recipe, Stirum, was sent to me by Mabel of Quincy some time ago and I have not had time to test it. Since it is suggest to serve with or as part of a salad, I want to get it posted during salad season. She stated the recipe originally came from an old North Dakota German Cookbook. She and her sisters enjoyed this dish growing up.

Stirum

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp salt

Beat eggs until smooth. Add flour, baking powder, sugar and salt, alternately with the milk, beating slowly into a thick batter.

Melt 1 to 2 Tbsp lard in hot skillet and heat. Pour batter into pan and brown on one side. Turn pancake over and cut into pieces, like scrambled eggs. Serve over a wilted lettuce salad or alongside a cucumber, onion and sour cream salad. A side of fried German sausage also goes well. If you try this recipe, let me know how it turns out and what you served it with.

Deutschesfest, Odessa’s German festival, will have area cooks and bakers making kuchen, strudel, cabbage rolls, kraut ranza and other German foods in preparation for the food court and bake sales. Our next column with feature German recipes so bakers new to German cuisine can have an opportunity to contribute to the event. Personally, the kraut ranza recipe is the perfect receptacle for all kinds of fillings and a great way to use up many leftover meats and vegetables, but more about that next column.

Share your favorite German or other ethnic recipes, summer salads and desserts and back to school lunch box treats by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Record Times, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record Office. Summer heat and constant watering can lead to a buildup of spent leaves and weed growth around plants. Take time to remove weeds and dead leaves under squash, melon, and tomato plants to improve airflow and prevent spoilage of fruit on the vine.